I've been TAGGED! (And Soapbox Sunday)

Okay, I was "tagged" by my girl Devon. I'm supposed to write a 6 word memoir about myself.. HHHMMMMM......

"Finding my JOY in the LORD."


I heard my friend Heather once say that joy is a choice. After losing our own son I've come to know that she's right. We can choose to stay in bed and grieve, or we can get up with an attitude of PRAISE!


John 16:20
I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.


Yes, this was actually talking about the death and resurrection of JESUS.. but it's also so very perfect for those who've lost loved ones. Sometimes you feel so very alone. People "grieve" with you for a while, but then it seems that everyone else's lives go on as if nothing happened while you know in your heart that NOTHING will ever be the same.

Well, we do have JOY because our hope does not end with the grave. We KNOW because JESUS overcame the grave, that our sweet son did too! He's in HEAVEN and we WILL see him again. Now our task is to share what GOD has taught us about HIMSELF and pray that others will come to KNOW and LOVE HIM too.







1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. 15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.



Thanks, Devon for "tagging" me. I had a hard time thinking of what to say about myself with just 6 words. (I could've gone ANYWHERE with that!) LOL!!!


Now, Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.




I'm a HUGE cheater when it comes to these games because I NEVER know who to tag. If you'd like to play along then jump right in there!


I hope you guys have an AMAZING day in the LORD! Now, for my post on "Soapbox Sunday."







I don't have anything with spiritual depth for this post, however it is one that is very close to my heart. As you may already know we lost our son to childhood cancer. If you'd like to post with me on this Soapbox Sunday then PLEASE FEEL FREE to copy the exact post below to your site. (Or you can email me and I'll send you the EXACT post with the codes and all already in place - I'll check my email first thing in the morning then again mid-afternoon. We'll be meeting with our Bible study group from 9-? my email address is nason5@aol.com) The more people we can get involved, the GREATER the impact. If you do post with me just leave a comment and we'll "blog hop" around. THANKS SO MUCH for your time!


Now, besides the fact that childhood cancer has struck our home, the statistics are HORRIFIC. The information below was taken from lunchforlife.org



Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in the US and it kills more children per year than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, asthma and AIDS combined. There are 15 children diagnosed with cancer for every one child diagnosed with pediatric AIDS. Yet, the U.S. invests approximately $595,000 for research per victim of pediatric AIDS and only $20,000 for each victim of childhood cancer.


The information from here to the end of this post was copied from an email. The main site is curesearch.org However there is a link below that will take you DIRECTLY to the place you'll quickly fill in your information and you'll have helped INSTANTLY!


Please help us pass the CONQUER CHILDHOOD CANCER ACT. This bill authorizes $30 million annually for five years to support pediatric cancer research. Imagine hearing your beloved son or daughter has cancer. 12,400 US families will hear these words each year. 35,000 US children are in active cancer treatment and 2,300 will die annually.

This is unacceptable when you consider we've spent 500 billion on a war overseas. 150 million over 5 years for the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act seems like a "drop in the bucket" in comparison. On the plus side, we have 52 wise senators supporting the CCCA. We need 8 more to reach 60, a majority to help pass this landmark legislation. Please honor those children that have been fighting for their lives and those who have earned their wings by taking 5 MINUTES to e-mail SENATORS that are NOT yet CO-SPONSORS. If this bill is not passed by 2008, it dies and we're back to square one.
Here is a list of states that need sponsors...Alabama (2), Alaska (2), Arizona (2), Colorado (2), Florida (2), Idaho (2), Iowa (2), Kansas (1), Louisiana (1), Maine (2), Mississippi (1), Missouri (2), Montanna (2), Nevada (1), New Hampshire (2), North Dakota (2), Ohio (1), Oklahoma (2), Oregon (1), Pennsyvania (1), South Carolina (1), South Dakota (1), Tennessee (2), Texas (1), Utah (2), Virginia (1), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (2), Wyoming (2).


Click HERE to send a letter to your Member of Congress urging them to vote to pass the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act. It will take LESS THAN 5 MINUTES.


If you have a CaringBridge site, blog, or myspace, please copy and paste this info to your site. If you know someone who lives in one of these states, copy and e-mail it to them. If you're feeling ambitious, lead a letter writing campaign in your state that needs co-sponsors. One grandma sent out thousands of copied letters to family/friends in other states. All they needed to do was sign the letter and mail it in.

"The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." - William James (1842 - 1910)




Friends writing on Soapbox Sunday...

Shari

Stephanie

Heather